Coinone, a South Korean crypto exchange, says there is no truth in reports it will meet Coinbase executives to discuss a takeover this week, after reports that the US exchange was eyeing an acquisition deal. “These reports are untrue,” said a Coinone spokesperson. “We have no direct meeting with Coinbase planned.” On Sunday, Coinbase said it would not comment on “speculation or rumours.”
Coinone has also announced the return of Cha to the position of CEO, five months after stepping down from the post. The exchange confirmed it was looking into “strategic investment and other forms of business collaboration,” but “nothing has yet been decided.” Coinone’s trading volumes trail far behind Upbit and Bithumb, and represent just 5% of the domestic market.
The return of Cha to CEO was linked to forthcoming equity investment from overseas players interested in entering the South Korean market. But Coinone said it was instead reshuffling its executive staff as part of a search for new business opportunities. Interest in the crypto industry is at an all-time high, the Coinone official said. As such, we are receiving an increasing number of requests for various forms of cooperation. The number of monthly active users on Coinone, Upbit, Korbit, Bithumb, and GOPAX’s apps fell by over 14% between January and December last year, data provider IGA Works reported. The number of new app downloads for all five exchanges nearly halved in the same time period.
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